Edinburgh College Graduate Published Book On Prison Dance Teaching Edinburgh 2026

Key Points

• Edinburgh College BA Dance graduate Aimee Friel has published a memoir titled The Prison Project: A Memoir From a Prison Dance Teacher.
• Friel taught dance for six years in community settings, including schools, additional support needs facilities, and a Scottish young offenders prison.
• Her prison sessions focused on supporting young male offenders dealing with trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and mental health challenges.
• The book grew out of a personal journal Friel kept during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she recorded her daily interactions and experiences with the prisoners.
• Friel sent the manuscript to publishers after her grandmother encouraged her to share it, leading to its release on Amazon and in Waterstones.
• Following her six years in dance education, Friel completed a postgraduate degree in primary teaching.

Edinburgh (Edinburgh Daily) October 15, 2026 – As reported by Edinburgh College News, BA Dance graduate Aimee Friel has published her debut book, The Prison Project: A Memoir From a Prison Dance Teacher, following six years of community arts engagement, including running dance workshops for young offenders inside a Scottish penal facility.

Friel’s work examines the intersection of movement, rehabilitation, and trauma-informed care within male correctional environments.

What was Aimee Friel’s journey from Edinburgh College to teaching dance in Scottish prisons?

According to an interview published by Edinburgh College News, Aimee Friel completed her BA Dance degree at Edinburgh College before entering the professional creative sector. Following her graduation, Friel secured teaching positions across multiple community sectors.

Her initial workload encompassed deliverable workshops in mainstream schools, specialized facilities for adults and children with additional support needs, and penal institutions across Scotland.

As detailed in the Edinburgh College News coverage, Friel explained the motivation behind her non-traditional career path. As reported by Edinburgh College News, Friel stated:

“After I completed the BA Dance course, I managed to find work with several different dance companies. Teaching dance in community settings, in schools, in schools for children and adults with additional support needs, and in prison. I did that for around 6 years, before going back to do a post-grad in primary teaching. And in the middle of all that, that was when I got my book published about my experiences teaching in prison!”

Friel noted that her passion lay in utilizing performing arts as a functional mechanism to support individuals who had experienced adverse childhood experiences, psychological trauma, or severe mental health challenges.

How did dance classes function inside a young offenders prison environment?

According to reporting by Edinburgh College News, Friel’s entry into prison education began through an apprenticeship model where she shadowed established instructors before leading her own sessions. She credited the practical teaching skills unit delivered during her degree at Edinburgh College with providing the foundational preparation required to step into a secure prison environment.

As reported by Edinburgh College News, Friel outlined the initial societal perceptions and physical demands involved in delivering dance training to young men in detention:

“It’s maybe not somewhere you’d expect to wind up if you’re on a dance course, but for me I’ve always been really passionate about using the arts to help people. Dance can improve social skills, mental health, physical health, so I wanted to use that to help those that needed it most, people that had experienced trauma, or adverse childhood upbringings, or mental health issues.”

Friel explained that the classes required breakdown of social stereotypes surrounding male dance. Participants routinely discovered that the physical requirements—including breath control, muscular engagement, weight-bearing lifts, and counter-balances—demanded high levels of athleticism, physical strength, and clear interpersonal communication.

How did writing personal journals turn into a published memoir?

According to Edinburgh College News, the inspiration to compile her teaching experiences into a structured book arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having accumulated several years of experience leading workshops independently, Friel began documenting the daily interactions, humor, and emotional breakthroughs observed during her sessions.

As documented by Edinburgh College News, the transition from private journaling to a commercial book release was encouraged by her family. Friel shared her initial manuscript drafts with her grandmother, whose positive feedback provided the impetus to approach literary agencies and commercial publishing houses.

The resulting publication, The Prison Project: A Memoir From a Prison Dance Teacher, was subsequently picked up for release and made available through mainstream booksellers including Waterstones and Amazon.

What is the background of dance therapy and arts outreach in Scottish prisons?

Arts-in-prisons initiatives across Scotland and the wider United Kingdom have long been integrated into rehabilitation and educational frameworks within the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

Programmes spanning visual arts, creative writing, drama, and physical movement are designed to reduce recidivism by fostering self-regulation, improving emotional literacy, and building communication skills among incarcerated populations.

Dance and movement-based interventions specifically target somatic rehabilitation. Many young offenders housed in custodial facilities have documented histories of childhood trauma and disengagement from formal education. Structured physical movement provides non-verbal outlets for trauma processing, stress reduction, and team coordination.

Educational institutions like Edinburgh College continue to offer vocational pathways in performance and community dance, preparing graduates to work in non-traditional environments such as healthcare, social services, and custodial settings.

What are the predictions for creative arts rehabilitation programmes and Edinburgh College graduates?

The publication and reception of The Prison Project is expected to influence both academic curriculum development and policy discussions regarding creative arts in custodial settings:

• Impact on Performing Arts Graduates: Friel’s success highlights alternative, impactful career pathways for dance and arts graduates outside traditional performance companies, likely encouraging higher education institutions to expand community outreach and trauma-informed pedagogy modules.
• Impact on Prison Rehabilitation Policy: Documented personal accounts detailing the measurable therapeutic and social benefits of dance among male young offenders may bolster funding arguments for creative arts therapies within prison education budgets.
• Impact on Public Perception: The book provides mainstream readers with rare insights into the human dynamics within young offenders’ institutions, potentially reducing public stigma surrounding incarcerated youth and promoting support for holistic rehabilitation models.